La Petite Mort Gallery

La Petite Mort (a French reference to the tense throes of orgasm) is a befitting name for a gallery with an appetite for the ecstatic. Definitely sexy and committed to indulgence, La Petite Mort is an eclectic ode to diversity. Home to a wide range of contemporary artwork, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, “objets trouvés” & mixed media, the gallery’s owner, Guy Bérubé, is focused on examining the synergy between artistic expression and crafty design, guided by the principle that the harmony of the two result in the highest form of creation. Weekly events at the gallery, such as the ‘One Night Stand’ 24 hour-art-happenings, keep the space consistently vibrant, while stunning exhibits showcase a colorful mix of local, regional & international contemporary talent that will appeal to creative collectors.

- Andrew Ritchie, PRESTON Magazine

As contemporary art and industrial design have come to occupy an increasingly larger space in the consciousness of today’s consumers, the line between “design” and “art” continues to blur, even at times to disappear. Consequently, La Petite Mort has created a new space dedicated to exploring this shifting, evolving dialogue. The new gallery will present work which bridges these two disciplines, fusing craft and production, art and design, outsider and mainstream, designer and producer. This is an approach which we’ve followed from the early days of being artists and designers, and we are now positioned to pursue it in a much more focused way.

- Tony Martins, GUERILLA Magazine

Guy Bérubé’s vision for La Petite Mort is truly – and perhaps surprisingly, given the gallery’s name – a vision of social ethics. He sees the artist’s struggle with self-awareness through visual art reflected back to the viewer not as passive recipient but as active participant in the creative endeavour. A signature feature of La Petite Mort Gallery is the feeling of discomfort many of the artworks evoke, which, as is the goal of subversive art, reflects the viewer’s personal projections back upon themselves.

This discomfort is a necessary part of Bérubé’s aesthetic and ethical sensibility. It recognizes the role of art in alienation and in critical transformation, for cultural progress is usually provoked by the ideas invoked at the boundaries of our communities. LPM artists represent subjects at the margins of contemporary Canadian urban society